Children, Adolescents and Huel

Huel Products have been designed to meet adult requirements for essential nutrients based on a 2,000 calorie intake. People often enjoy consuming Huel Products for some of their meals as well as having one or two solid meals per day, using Huel Products to help ensure they’re getting adequate intake of all nutrients. However, what about children and adolescents who may have different nutritional requirements to those of adults?

Amounts of Huel Products in Different Age Groups

These guidelines take the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels into consideration, and suggest children consume Huel Products up to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for their age. The Dietary Reference Intakes represent the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs), and where applicable, the Adequate Intakes (AI). The RDA is defined as “the average daily dietary intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97 to 98%) healthy individuals”, and is calculated from an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR). If there is insufficient scientific evidence to establish an EAR, an Adequate intake (AI) will be established.

As Huel products can be a great way to help fill gaps in a child’s intake, the following is a guide for how a child or adolescent can include Huel as part of a balanced diet. If your child has a specific medical  or nutrition-related condition, please consult your doctor or relevant clinical professional before your child tries Huel.

Children Under 4

Huel Products are not suitable for children under 4 years old, which includes babies or infants below or during weaning age. 

4 to 8-Year-Olds

If advised by their pediatrician, children ages 4 to 6 years old may include up to 1 scoop of Huel Essential, or ½ a bottle of white bottle Ready-to-drink per day. This will provide 200 calories, and 10g of protein, which is comparable to pediatric nutrition supplements, and could be useful to support your child’s nutritional intake. However, we recommend consulting your pediatrician before trying Huel.

9 to 13 Year-Olds

Children ages 9 to 13 years old may include one serving of Huel Powder v3.1, Huel Essential, or one bottle of Ready-to-Drink per day. This will provide 400 calories, and 20-35g of protein, depending on the product. These can be enjoyed according to the directions on the label, or blended with frozen fruit to make a nutrient-dense fruit smoothie. Children may experience periods of rapid growth during this time, so if you are not sure how much protein would be appropriate please refer to the section below “Macronutrient Requirements” or talk to your pediatrician.

14 to 18 -Year-Olds

Older adolescents have, in most cases, nutritional requirements greater than those of adults due to the fact that they’re growing, they’re often physically active and are studying at school or college. Generally speaking, this age group can enjoy any of our meals or protein products as part of a balanced, varied diet.

Optimal Nutrition in Children and Adolescents

Generally speaking, children and adolescents should be encouraged to consume a balanced diet consisting of a variety of different foods. The USDA provides several comprehensive and free resources about children’s nutrition for kids and parents alike. This includes games, coloring sheets, meal planning resources and educational flyers.

Children and teenagers should eat regularly to fuel growth and mental development as well as providing nutrition for high levels of activity. Good nutrition goes hand-in-hand with physical activity: kids are encouraged to be active and include some regular exercise, whether it be school sports, walking, riding a bike, or simply playing out with friends. 

As long as the child is eating sufficient foods from the above food groups, it’s OK for them to include some sweet treats on occasion. It is important to recognize that socializing is also important for kids, and if their friends are enjoying less-than-healthy foods, the odd junk food meal or fatty and sugary snack will not be harmful and may help prevent a child from feeling ‘left out’ or developing unhealthy dynamics with food. 

Energy Requirements

Children’s energy requirements vary widely, from fewer than 1,500 calories per day in young kids, to over 2,800 calories per day in older teenagers. If a child is very active, these requirements may be even greater. Some kids are simply not big eaters, so you need to look at nutritionally-sound ways of obtaining sustenance without encouraging too much junk for the sake of calories. Huel can serve as an in-between meal or snack to help support adequate intake. 

Picky eating can be a barrier to adequate intake, especially for younger children. Check out our article “6 Tips for Picky Eaters” and Huel recipes can be a fun way for your child to enjoy the nutrition of Huel Products.

Macronutrient Requirements

Macronutrients are nutrients that provide calories, and are required in large amounts in our diet. The macronutrients are protein, fat and carbohydrates, and they each provide calories to the food we eat. One gram of fat provides 9 calories, one gram of protein provides 4 calories, and one gram of carbohydrates provides 4 calories. Macronutrient requirements can vary between individuals, but the following are the recommended macronutrient distributions for children above the age of 4 years old. These ranges provide percentages of calories that should come from these nutrients. 

Fiber Intake

Getting children and adolescents to eat more fruits and vegetables or fibrous carbohydrate foods can be a difficult task that leaves many parents frustrated. Not only are these foods rich in fiber, but they also contain many essential vitamins and minerals. 

Huel Powders and Ready-to-drink are high in fiber with 400 calories providing at least 6g; a significant contribution to the 25g per day recommended for children over 4 years.

Sodium Intake

A lot of junk and fast foods are high in sodium, some of which is ‘hidden sodium’ in not-so-obvious foods. On average, children consume more than 3100 mg of sodium per day, which is why it is important to be conscious of sodium intake when planning meals for your child. The adequate intake of sodium for children is anywhere from 1000-1500mg per day for children above the age of 4.

Vitamin & Mineral Intakes

As Huel Products are based on natural ingredients and topped up with a vitamin and mineral blend, by including it as a supportive tool as a part of a healthy varied diet, you likely do not need to be concerned about excess consumption of any nutrient if intake is at recommended amounts. (For children ages 4 to 8 years old, this 1 scoop of Huel Essential, or ½ a bottle of white bottle Ready-to-drink per day. For children ages 9 to 13 years, this is 2 scops Huel Powder v3.1, Huel Essential, or one bottle of Ready-to-Drink per day)

Below is a chart detailing the DRIs (Dietary Reference Intakes) and ULs (Tolerable Upper Intake Levels) for vitamins and minerals, as well as how much of each vitamin and mineral is in one Ready-to-drink bottle, one serving of Huel Essential powder, and one serving of Huel Powder v3.1.

**The ULs for magnesium represent intake from a pharmacological agent only and do not include intake from food and water.

**The ULs for magnesium represent intake from a pharmacological agent only and do not include intake from food and water.